Ideas
And So It Begins: Trump, Syria, and The Lessons of Iraq
With recent 'warning shot' at Assad, the US is trying to avoid escalation in Syria, not stoke it, sources say.
Ideas
There’s Less than Meets the Eye in Trump’s Saudi Arms Deal
It takes a lot of existing offers and future promises to add up to $110 billion.
Ideas
The Government Wants You to Stop the Next Edward Snowden
New rules mean you could lose your security clearance if you don’t Say Something when you See Something.
Ideas
What Happens When Intelligence Agencies Lose Faith in the President?
If bureaucrats restrict the information they share with political leaders, the damage could prove deep and lasting.
Ideas
The Dangers of Presidential Indiscretions
President Trump had the legal right to declassify information—but by sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians, he may have jeopardized national security.
Ideas
Foreign Leaders Have Realized Trump Is a Pushover
The president’s reported disclosure of classified information to Russia is only the latest example of the self-proclaimed great negotiator conceding to officials from overseas everything they want.
Ideas
Trump's Disclosures Are Another Win for Russia
Putin has long used the pretext of counterterrorism cooperation to get what he wants from the West. It just paid off again.
Ideas
The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures
The consequences of the president’s reported divulgence of top-secret codeword information to the Russians are only beginning.
Ideas
A Defense Budget Increase is No More Needed in 2018 than It Was Last Year
A former assistant defense secretary argues the Trump administration’s bump-up was unnecessary, and in fact counterproductive, to national defense.
Ideas
The Army Wants to Let Troops off the ‘Digital Leash.’ That’s Easier Said Than Done.
Gen. Mark Milley’s injunction against IT-enabled micromanagement will require leaders at all levels to re-think what it means to be part of the profession of arms.
Ideas
How American Special Operators Gradually Returned to Somalia
A U.S. soldier was killed in the country this month for the first time in more than two decades. What was he doing there?
Ideas
Don’t Fear Pakistan’s Participation in China’s ‘New Silk Road’
U.S. interests can be served no matter whether the mega-project’s subcontinental branch succeeds or fails.
Ideas
Congress, the President, and the Dwindling Oversight of War
Lawmakers’ tacit approval of modern military actions encourages more boundary-stretching.
Ideas
Time Warfare: Threats to GPS Aren’t Just About Navigation and Positioning
The U.S. military needs to get serious about assuring access to precision timing.
Ideas
Diplomacy with North Korea Can Work
But success will require the Trump administration to learn some lessons from the last nuclear agreement with Pyongyang.
Ideas
Can Russian Safe Zones Solve Syria?
If a potential negotiated solution to the Syrian conflict exists, something in the spirit of Russia’s plan for decentralization and ceasefires might be it.
Ideas
America’s Allies Are in Decline. Here’s How the US Should Adjust
As global power shifts, Washington needs a new strategy, and a new way of managing its alliances.
Ideas
Yemen Could Be the Key to Solving the Iran Problem
A proposal to transfer control of a Red Sea port could have wide-ranging effects on regional tension.
Ideas